If you’ve got items of jewelry that are valuable to you – whether due to their financial value or their sentimental importance – then your first step should be to insure them against theft and damage. Once you’ve done this, you should have the items valued once a year, to make sure your insurance policy is giving you the level of coverage you need.
Take photographs of each item and document them in an inventory, which again, should be updated annually, or ideally, each time you add to the collection.
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More about jewelry insurance coverage
Your contents insurance policy might have a ‘sum insured’, and if the value is less than the total cost of your contents – including your valuables –you may find that your cover isn’t enough to replace your jewelry collection. There will be a limit within your contents insurance coverage, which is equal to the total amount payable for all your valuables (including jewelry), and if this isn’t updated, you run the risk of not having adequate insurance.
There is also a limit for a single valuable item or piece of jewelry, and if this is worth more than the single item limit, you will have to specify it on your policy to ensure that it’s covered for the full amount.
If you increase the amount of cover, this will naturally add to the cost of your insurance, but at least you will have the peace of mind that you’re fully covered in the event of a theft or other such event.
Keep your inventory with your insurance documents, and lock them away in a high security jewelry safe…which brings us to the next point:
Securing your jewelry in a safe
There are 3 main ways to keep your jewelry protected at home, and these are:
- With a burglar alarm – these not only alert you to the presence of burglars at your home, but act as a deterrent for crime, too.
- By hiding items well – most burglars don’t have the time to hunt high and low for items to steal, so if you hide the items well, a burglar may never find them
- By storing them in a high security jewelry safe – this is the most reliable and cost-effective way to secure your jewelry and any other items of value in your home.
To find out more about jewelry safes and keeping your precious items of jewelry protected at home, consult with a locksmith or safe specialist in your area.